Hartline’s 90 yard punt return for a touchdown

No one picked the Golden Flashes to upset Ohio State and it was clear from the first possession that upset was not in the cards. However, KSU did not give up and ran the ball pretty effectively against the usually stout Buckeye D. In the preview, I predicted an OSU win with a 34-3 score, clearly I didn’t factor in a 14 point contribution from special teams and defense…

The Good

• Special Teams – The first complete game by special teams with deep kickoffs, good coverage on punt and kickoff returns, a special teams score on 90 yard punt return, 2 field goals, and reasonable punting.
• Pass Defense – 6-15 attempts for 60 yards and a pick six. A dominating performance.
• Pass Offense – 20-25 attempts for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Unbelievable efficiency.

The Bad

• Run Defense – For the first time this season, a team really won the battle at the point of attack resulting in 156 yards, but only 3.3 yards per attempt. This line dosen’t tell the whole story, the run game was feast or famine with plays resulting in first downs or no yards. There are some teachable moments resulting from this game.
• Run Offense – KSU sold out to stop the run which in part resulted in the passing efficiency referenced above. Never the less, one would expect more than 3.8 yards per attempt and 136 net rushing yards. Again, teachable moments available from this performance. The good news is, when it was time to run down the clock the offense did deliver.
• “Crispness” – It feels weird to write “negative” things about a 48-3 win, but this team did not play a good game. It was out of sync and looked sluggish. The great thing is, the team looked this way and won a game in this convincing manner. The bad news is, the competition level increases greatly from this point forward in the season. A performance like this against better competition will result in a much closer result.

The Ugly

• Injuries – Anderson Russell, safety appeared to be the victim of a clip or crackback block which may have resulted in a serious injury. James Laurinaitis looked to get dinged up and sat out the second half. Make no mistake, those two players represent the heart and soul of this defense. The loss of either or both of those players would be devestating particularly with the meat of the schedule approaching.
• Officiating – The hit on Russell was dirty and should have been called. The KSU line was holding (ahem, tackling) defenders all day long…So much for home cooking with the officials…
• Televised Coverage – DirecTV and the Big Ten Network screwed up coverage of the game. Despite a call in advance to warn them that it looked screwed up, they still screwed it up. To their credit, they did get the game on live mid-way through the first quarter.

The defense gave up 3 points at the end of the game, good for KSU. Not so good for a Buckeye D looking for the shutout. This is a game that OSU should have won and won big. They delivered. As much as this entry sounds negative, I don’t really feel that way, this is a very good team. I simply believe there is more room for improvement. Congratulations on a team victory and a good victory. Go Bucks!